Bitter cucumbers

**Potstubsdustbins** · 11-08-2015, 03:21 PM

Is it an all female variety and if not have you been removing the male flowers?

**fishpond** · 11-08-2015, 04:04 PM

Originally posted by Philthy View Post

So this morning I harvested from my Long White cucumber plant; eight plump specimens 6-7" long by 2.5" girth. Distributed seven among work colleagues and kept the last one back to try myself. Sadly... it is horrible

The bitterest taste ever - I had to spit it out. Not grown this variety before. However, it was grown alongside and in identical conditions to Bella F1 (which I grew last year), and that type is very, very good.
Shall I cut my losses and pull the plant up now while there's still time to grow something in it's place, or is this issue reversible?
(Guess I'll be getting some critical comments tomorrow then..

)

If it any consolation, mine are slightly bitter in places (Marketmore 4), I can only assume mine have cross pollinated with Cucamelons in the same greenhouse.
Other than that I haven't got a clue at the moment.

**Scarlet** · 11-08-2015, 04:06 PM

I had problems with this variety a few years back. It was impossible to take off the male flowers - there literally were hundreds! I didn't grow anything else alongside it either

I did post about it at the time. It was so bad I couldn't swallow it. Great for jokes with the kids though

I ripped it up and cut my losses, a friend who I shared seed with had the same results.

**Philthy** · 11-08-2015, 07:26 PM

Is it an all female variety and if not have you been removing the male flowers?

Potty, no it isn't, and no I haven't. This is the first male/female cucumber I've tried to grow. I was reading on the RHS website beforehand, and followed advice saying not to bother removing the male flowers - however I've just checked again and turns out that advice was actually specific to the outdoor types. Could be an issue(?)

...I can only assume mine have cross pollinated with Cucamelons in the same greenhouse.

I've been googling, and found this:
"...It�s important to never grow ridge cucumbers in the same greenhouse as an �all-female� Greenhouse type as this will lead to cross-pollination, which can produce bitter fruits."

Looks like human error may be the culprit here afterall........

But even still, taste aside, there are features of this cucumber which have not lived up to expectation at all: the photo of Long White shows a snow white fruit - mine are a sort of dirty cream colour! They're also short and fat rather than long. They're very spiny and nobbly - not the most aesthetic thing I've ever grown... And the skin is thick, hardly matching the claim of "The tender, white skins are so thin that they won't even need peeling." Could be they're better picked undersized, but then they wouldn't be LONG either, so who knows?

It was impossible to take off the male flowers - there literally were hundreds! I didn't grow anything else alongside it either

Scarlet, that doesn't bode well for trying it again, either. Think I'll scrap this plant and just stick with the female cucs in future (for greenhouse anyway) - they seem to be a lot more straightforward!

**Potstubsdustbins** · 11-08-2015, 07:57 PM

^^^^^^^^^^ Looking at that description I would take a small bet on the seed sellers ..............T&%

**Scarlet** · 11-08-2015, 08:04 PM

Yep, that's where I had mine from ^^^^^ I swear I did everything to the book. When I tasted the first bitter one I started to take the male flowers off but when they got going it really was a lost cause.

**Potstubsdustbins** · 11-08-2015, 09:26 PM

I have found their advice to be poor, not a reputable company in my opinion.

**Philthy** · 12-08-2015, 06:19 PM

I have found their advice to be poor, not a reputable company in my opinion

No argument there

I've found several times with T&M seeds and some of their plugs the end result hardly lives up to the claims for performance, yield etc. And this after diligently following their own instructions (and being fortunate with the weather of course).
I'm not too impressed that the much vaunted attributes of this cucumber have also turned out to be greatly exaggerated.
(And yes, all seven other specimens went straight in various kitchen bins around the southeast haha)!

**Scarlet** · 12-08-2015, 10:46 PM

I just wish I could have been a fly on the wall whe they tasted them

**Gren** · 13-08-2015, 01:23 PM

3 greenhouse plants this year. All from the same packet of seed. Can't remember the variety but were definitely short, fat ones.

One fruited early and after the 3rd or 4th fruit the rest were all really bitter. All the cucumbers harvested from the other two plants have been delicious but looked totally different - much rougher looking, uneven colour with much stiffer spines.

Read up on the bitterness and infrequent watering seemed to be the cause with the result that once one fruit was bitter the rest would turn out the same.

**vixylix** · 13-08-2015, 01:31 PM

moral of the story - always taste before giving away?!

**bario1** · 13-08-2015, 01:49 PM

Or - don't grow 'novelty' varieties?

**bario1** · 13-08-2015, 02:08 PM

Anyone remember reading 'The BFG' by Roald Dahl when they were a kid? Haha!

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**veggiechicken** · 13-08-2015, 02:16 PM

My packet of Long White Cucumber has just been donated to the VSP

You've put me off growing it for life

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